This week Betsy DeVos was confirmed as our new Education Secretary and Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General. There is no sugar coating this: both are disastrous for women, sexual assault survivors, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and the LGBT community.

Though these confirmations are terrifying, what is heartening is increased resistance from voters and elected Democrats. Senate Democrats in response to pressure from folks like us, including Meghna who critiqued them earlier for refusing to take action on Trump’s nominees, pulled all-nighters to oppose both confirmations. Though DeVos did win, Mike Pence was forced to break the tie—a first in U.S. history—because millions of calls, letters, and direct actions pushed two Republican Senators to flip to the right side. It is easy to be disillusioned by these appointments, but I hope we find encouragement in these small wins: greater organizing, Democrats finding their spines, embarrassing blows to the Administration. Although both nominees pose significant threats to the (few) rights and protections the most vulnerable have, we cannot stop fighting and resisting the regime.

“In another community, your kid’s found outside looking for you because you’re in the bathtub, it’s ‘Oh, my God.’ In a poor community, it’s called endangering the welfare of your child.'” The New York Times on ...

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